Panaji: Govt has approved a directorate of Museums scheme to provide annual maintenance grants of up to Rs 1 lakh to eligible private museums in Goa, said director of Museums, Vasu Usapkar, on Tuesday.Usapkar was speaking at the symposium on “Role of Museums in conserving heritage and history of Goa”, held to mark the 49th foundation day of Goa State Museum at Goa Science Centre Auditorium, Miramar, Panaji.“We are preparing to operationalise this annual maintenance grant scheme for private museums. Our immediate focus is notifying the scheme and encouraging more museums to join us,” he said.Museums will have to meet the scheme’s criteria and be registered with the directorate of museums to avail of the benefit.“Currently, there are six private museums registered with us. If they apply, we will sanction the amount. The new scheme is also intended to encourage other privately run museums to come forward and register with the department,” he said.Govt has already implemented another financial assistance scheme for museums, covering two categories — already-established museums and proposed new museums.Officials said that two museums, Amche Daaiz at Keri and Rustic Farm Museum, have so far received financial support under that scheme.The symposium brought together students, young academicians and researchers to present papers on the preservation of Goa’s history and heritage. Students presented 25 papers during the event.“Museology has increasingly been introduced as a subject in colleges, while students and research scholars have also been approaching the Goa State Museum for assistance and opportunities to pursue research,” said Usapkar. “ The symposium was an opportunity for such students and young researchers to present their work before an academic audience.”
